Tough choice in Golden Joysticks' Shooter of the Year

Halo, CoD and L4D bump heads

Left 4 Dead, Halo and Call of Duty are amongst the massive names competing in the Golden Joysticks' ITN Game On Shooter of the Year award this year.

The Shooter of the Year has become one of the most sought after awards at the Joysticks – which are run by TechRadar publisher Future.

This year's line-up is particularly strong, buoyed by the presence of gaming megalith Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Xbox's Halo ODST and Valve's Zombie blastathon Left 4 Dead 2.

"The FPS genre is perhaps the most fervently supported of any gaming category," explains the Golden Joysticks' release.

"The soaring sales and continuing popularity of the nominated titles in the ITN Game On Shooter of the Year category proves that whilst video gaming has broadened it's appeal into a mainstream lifestyle pursuit over the last few years, quality shoot 'em ups have grown their popularity in the bedroom and living rooms of the world."